There is, at present, an ongoing need for antimicrobial compositions that are effective against a wide range of microorganisms while, at the same time, are environmentally- and user-friendly. The specific requirements for such compositions vary according to the intended application (e.g. sanitizer, disinfectant, sterilant, sporicide, etc.) and applicable public health requirements. For example, as set out in Germicidal and Detergent Sanitizing Action of Disinfectants, Official Methods of Analysis of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists, paragraph 960.09 and applicable sections, 15th Edition, 1990 (EPA Guideline 91-2), a sanitizer should provide a 99.999% reduction (5-log order reduction) within 30 seconds at room temperature, 20±2° C., against several test organisms.
Prior art antimicrobial compositions are disclosed in the following published U.S. patent applications and issued U.S. patents:
2006/0172911McClung2005/0255172Omidbakhsh2005/0145826McClung2005/0145825McClung2005/0145824McClung2005/0133460McClung2005/0058719Ramirez et al2004/0182793Owens2004/0171687Kemp et al.2004/0137077Ancira et al.2004/0033923McClung2003/0206965Hasan et al.2003/0203035Hasan et al.2003/0228996Hei et al.2003/0181377Ramirez et al.2003/0161891Ruiter2002/0072288Hei et al.6,927,237Hei et al.6,593,283Hei et al.6,383,523Murad6,296,880Murad
Notwithstanding the existence of many different prior art antimicrobial compositions, the present invention is intended to provide new environmentally- and user-friendly compositions that are effective against many different microorganisms, at reasonably short contact times, including compositions that are effective against bacterial and fungal spores (e.g. Clostridium Difficile, or C. Difficile) that are notoriously difficult to kill with known antimicrobial agents.